SMRDC Details - Information for Applicants
Letter of Intent
The Letter of Intent should include:
Project title
Name(s) of the participant(s)
One contacting postal address
One e-mail address
University affiliation(s)
Category – Undergraduate or Graduate
100-200 word description of the project
Faculty sponsor’s signed letter stating the eligibility of the student(s) to participate (an example here)
Final Written Report
The Final Written report consists of two separate documents + a video submission:
1. A Cover Page including
Project title
Name(s) of the participant(s)
One contacting postal address
One e-mail address
University affiliation
Category – Undergraduate or Graduate
Faculty sponsor’s name
Acknowledgments, by name (optional)
2. A Project description including:
Brief background
Functional description of the mechanism/robot
Clear statement of the novel features of the mechanism/robot
Procedures used to design the mechanism/robot
Benefits and possible applications of the mechanism/robot
Acknowledgment of help from others including faculty, machine shop personnel, laboratory technicians, etc. Do not mention names!
All appropriate figures, tables, photographs, etc, incorporated into the document
3. Video Submission:
A video of the entry must be submitted.
Up to 1 minute in length.
Both video content and production quality will be judged.
Can include recorded video, animations, simulations, etc.
The Cover Page and the Project Description should be submitted as two separate PDF files.
The project description should be roughly 1000 – 2000 words in length, prepared with a word processor, and submitted in PDF electronic format. The report must be no longer than 10 pages, including images, but not including the cover page. Participants may format the report in any way they like to maximize the readability and presentation of the technical content. Please contact the competition coordinators if you have any questions in this regard.
Submission
The required documents are to be emailed to the organizers with the keyword '[ASME SMRDC 2026]' in the subject line.
Awards
Awards will be presented to the first 3 teams in both undergraduate and graduate divisions along with certificates.
Registration waivers are provided, for one member of each team.
Cash awards are provided for the top three winners in each division.
Travel Funds
The organizers are currently working to secure travel funding support. If available, travel stipends may be provided at a fixed flat rate per team. In past years, this support has been $1,000 for domestic teams and $1,500 for international teams. Final availability and amounts will be confirmed at a later date.